University of Alabama study: Christmastime traffic worse than other holidays

Saturday

Nov 23, 2013 at 8:00 PMNov 23, 2013 at 8:30 PM

A recent study of Alabama traffic data by the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety predicts the days near Christmas this year will likely be more dangerous on the roadways than similar periods around Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.

By Ed EnochStaff Writer

A recent study of Alabama traffic data by the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety predicts the days near Christmas this year will likely be more dangerous on the roadways than similar periods around Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.A probable cause for the increase of accidents near Christmas is the heavy traffic associated with last-minute shopping during the days before and drivers traveling long distances to unfamiliar locations, said David Brown, a computer science professor at UA and a research associate with CAPS, in a statement released by the university.This year, Brown predicts Dec. 20 through Dec. 23 will be the worst days. The actual holidays are typically safer for travel since there is less traffic, according to the study.“The folks would be wise to get their shopping done early in the week before that Friday if at all possible,” Brown said.The study compared crash data from the past 10 years for six-day periods around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.The study was conducted with this holiday season in mind, Brown said. Christmas falls on a Wednesday this year and New Year’s Eve on a Tuesday.The analysis of the traffic patterns around Christmas and the New Year were complicated because the holidays fall on different weekdays year to year. The patterns for the two were also influenced by proximity to the weekend, according to Brown.Last year offers the strongest comparison for this year because Christmas fell on a Tuesday, making it most similar to the pattern for this year, according to Brown.For all three holidays in 2012, the severity of the accidents and the fatalities were similar, though number the crashes — mainly before Christmas — were significantly higher, according to Brown. There were 1,996 accidents in 2012 from Dec. 21-26, including 10 fatalities, according to the study. For the Thanksgiving week, there were 1,698 crashes, with nine fatalities in 2012. From Dec. 27, 2012 to Jan. 1, there were 1,552 accidents, with 10 fatal crashes.The center used its Critical Analysis Reporting Environment, or CARE, a software to analyze the crash data, according to a release from UA.